Currently, most microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) sensors and actuators are based on silicon substrates and manufactured using thin-film processes. These processes generally involve various deposition, masking and cleaning or etching processes to build up a three-dimensional structure. For some devices, further etching and removal of sacrificial layers allows components of the devices to move.
The applications for these devices include sensing applications, such as pressure sensors, and accelerometers, various kinds of detectors and display devices. These devices generally perform very well, but have a cost higher than desired for certain applications, especially for applications where the devices would essentially be disposable.
Disposable pressure sensors for medical applications, blast sensors for other application such as military, fire or police applications, or movement sensors for toys would generally have to be inexpensive to manufacture. However, the performance requirements for these types of devices are lower than for other applications, and the size may also be larger. This relaxes some of the design constraints that could make the manufacture less expensive if other materials were available from which to manufacture them.